Main menu

FERARI 488 Pista

Ferrari, if you’re a petrol head the name alone is enough to conjure up images of iconic scarlet red sports cars from the brand’s history and what a history it is even in the modern era with special mid-engine models like the 360 Challenge Stradale 430 scuderia and for five-eighths Pacioli the back catalog is littered with hits and now there’s a new release this is the 488 pista Ferraris latest special series model it’s based on the regular for a GT B but the firm’s engineers have tweaked fettled and developed almost every area of the car to make it harder faster and more responsive so what’s the 488 pista like to drive well in a word it is fantastic in fact it’s absolutely mesmerizing and the first thing you notice about it is that engine 3.9 liter twin-turbo v8 710horsepower and Ferrari claim to 62 miles per hour in and I quote 2.8 5secondsI’m sure why I need to go to two figures there but it feels good for that every bit that’s because there are so many changes here every single gram possible has been saved so with all the lightweight options the pista is up to90 kilograms lighter than a 488 GTB among those features are a new lighter exhaust while the engine gets new titanium connecting rods new turbochargers a lighter flywheel and crankshaft and even hollow inlet valves with the talk that the engines got 770 Newton meters that punch[Music]absolutely astonishing I cannot believe how quickly this engine revs and that something Ferraris really worked on response time for a turbocharged engine and it just picks up and goes in fact you don’t actually get all of the talk until you’re in seventh gear and that is a very very clever engineering solution because it means as the talk ramps up in every gear the motor feels more like a naturally aspirated engine in how it ramps up to the 8,000 rpm redline but there’s the boost and the torque is[Music]absolutely phenomenal but it’s not just the motor this car and combined with anew system from Ferrari called its dynamic enhancer[Music]it’s so much fun that’s one thing Ferraris really focused on being fun to drive and given the 488 pistas performance levels they’ve really achieved that the dynamic enhancer worlds which besides the control it works with the f1 track it works with the Edith and it just gives you the ability to really play with theca so nicely the system is yet another evolution on top of the tech in the 488GTB but in the pista it’s plumbed into the ESC system as well so it can adjust braking force at each individual caliper reacting quicker to your inputs and smoothing out the intervention to make us a more responsive or more rewarding car to drive it’s intelligent too so if the car senses you applying some corrective steering it’ll also let you use more throttle but it’s not the limit of the pistas talents the chassis is also magnificent the sheering’s been carried over from the 488 GTB however some geometry tweaks and a new tire means that the weighting is actually slightly heavier it’s just as fast but with that little bit more resistance actually gives you more confidence in the front end of the car and there is so much grip you can throw this thing at corners and on the road you need to push extremely hard to make it under steer given how focused the pista is though it’s actually surprisingly livable I mean that new inconel exhaust is definitely louder and you notice that inside and the cabins stripped out there’s a lot of carbon fiber in here and aluminum floor plates but as long as you press the bumpy road mode button on the steering wheel when you get in the dampers just slacking off that little bit so the car breeze with the road and on bumpy tarmac like this it makes it very predictable and actually quite a nice flowing experience the standard setting is maybe a little bit stiff gnarly UK roads but after all this is a track car so let’s see how it works on the track in fact translated from Italian pista literally means track so there was no better place to test it than Ferraris Fiorano circuit which is where another of the cars enhancements comes into its own like a lot of the pista the aerodynamics have been inspired by motorsport so there’s an f1derived s duct at the front more scoops and vents a bigger fixed spoiler and an enhanced diffuser with active aerodynamic flaps at the rear it means down force is up by 20% which you really notice in the high speed corners on the circuit the Pistons responses feel just as quick like the cars Keener to turn in the dynamic enhancer works just as well here where you’ve got even more room to explore so exploiting the cars beautiful balance is even easier and that’s what makes it so approachable but it’s not just one area that makes the pista such a joy to drive every part works in harmony which means this special series Ferrari is exactly that click the video window on the left for are view of the 488 Pistons predecessor the 448 Bestially and the window on the right to watch a review of the Ferrari 488 spider if you liked this video make sure you click on the auto Express logo to subscribe thanks for watching